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Catawbas Chief William Harris says the tribe looked for land in South Carolina but were "boxed out" of buying by land that was too expensive or not for sale. Instead they went to Cleveland County with plans for a $600 million casino.

The Catawba Indian Nation hatched the idea for building a $600 million casino in Cleveland County after they were stymied in buying land near the 1,006-acre York County reservation.

The Catawbas has been “effectively boxed out of any further significant acquisitions therein due to refusal of private landholders to sell or to sell at a reasonable price,” Catawba Chief William Harris writes in an affidavit filed with the Bureau of Indian Affairs application.

The information comes from an application to the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs. The application and supporting documents — a total of almost 250 pages — were sent to the Charlotte Business Journal in response to a Freedom of Information Act request.

In September, the Catawbas announced their plans for a casino, which the tribe says could bring 5,000 jobs to the region. Within a few weeks, opposition to the plan arose around the state, although Cleveland County officials are vocal in their support of the job creator. N.C. Gov. Pat McCrory is against it.

The site is south of Kings Mountain off Dixon School Road within sight of the entrance ramp at Exit 5 of southbound Interstate 85, about 35 miles west of Charlotte. The N.C. site is about 40 miles north of the reservation in York County.

The application also shows the Catawbas have a purchase agreement with Trent Testa, owner of Roadside Truck Plaza Inc., which once owned a truck fuel station near the Cleveland County land. Another company, according to an environmental assessment of the site, apparently now owns that business.

The 15.6-acre site where the casino would be located is free of environmental problems, although concerns have been noted on other land at the interchange.

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